Updates...

Hello fellow bloggers. Hope you all had a good christmas.So I currently have no interent but am trying to make it too and from the libaray when I can to check up on emails and any group problems.
Anyway I don't really have much to say on this matter right now but I hope tomorrow I will be able to talk more on progress and ideas which have come during this break. 

In Flanders Fields - Transcription Ideas

 I had already heard this poem many years ago, researching in this area for my transcription project reminded me of a very powerful and relevant poem which is a perfect example of how my animation could develop over the time I have, this poem I believe could be a strong influence for a starting point to my project.

"During the Second Battle of Ypres a Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2 May, 1915 by an exploding shell. He was a friend of the Canadian military doctor Major John McCrae.

John was asked to conduct the burial service owing to the chaplain being called away on duty elsewhere. It is believed that later that evening John began the draft for his famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'."

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm - This site is a very useful insight to how and why Flanders Fields was written. It is the inspiration and influence behind the poem.

I really like this image above, I think that it is really powerful piece of imagery which sends the right message to the audience. What really stands out for me is the selected color palette which has been used to create this. I believe that if this image was too bright then the atmosphere would be completely wrong, making this image less effective.

War Poems

As I said in a post below, I am looking at WW1 and WW2 for stories which could make a very unique animation. For the moment I have moved slightly away from war stories and onto war poems. I found a website or a number of websites of poets and others who have made poems for certain things to do with the war.

Below this text is a short poem I read whilst looking at the website(http://www.love-poems.me.uk/a_war_poems_index.htm), The poem which I'm using as an example is about two men facing each other in battle, and what the circumstances of them meeting would be like if it wasn't during battle.

The Man he Killed a poem by Thomas Hardy

Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.

I shot him dead because-
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like-just as I-
Was out of work-had sold his traps-
No other reason why.

Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
Or help to half a crown.

The Man he Killed
Thomas Hardy

Brainstorming a Logo/Brand

In this post I have put together some drawings from my sketch book to help me come up with a brand which I will use for and on my work in future projects.

 

The Sketches above are some which I have taken from my Sketchbook, I did these whilst I was sitting about, the ideas came into my head and I thought I'd better get them down on paper otherwise I'll forget them and won't be able to develop them into a more refined piece. 

These others are just a few more select sketches still based around creating a brand for myself. I have been trying to create names and logos related to this industry which I think are aesthetically pleasing but at the same time aren't too cheesy.

WW2 - Peoples War

Back to the blog, after taking all my research gathered for the post modernism essay and writing the essay, I can now get back to focusing on my group work and the start of the Transcription unit.

So although I have been busy doing other things I have also been looking to make an animation for my transcription project. So far I have been looking at making an animation that relates to religion. Earlier in my blog I was looking at "Give up yer Aul Sins" and also the poem, "Footprints in the Sand" which have been helping with my research and a basic start point.

However, Although the first thing that I looked up was about religion, I wanted to have a look at other options, options which would lead me in the right direction to creating a good original animation. I'm not too sure why but I have been looking at war time stories. I thought I would research different stories from the second world war to see civilians and old veterans opinions and stories of their account of the war and how it affected their lives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c54691/index.shtml

Brown Bag Studios - Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

After having a look at the Oscar nominated animation, "Give Up Yer Aul Sins", I came across the people who were responsible for making it.
Brown Bag Studios is based in Dublin, Ireland and also has another smaller studio in Los Angeles. The studio was founded in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell.
The studio is best known for creating original animations which are character driven from start to finish. Their Oscar nominated animations include, "Give Up Yer Aul Sins" which was released in 2002 and later in 2008 "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" which is seen in the video below.

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty(2008) -

This Six minute animation was directed and released in 2008 by Nicky Phelan, " A seemingly sweet old lady loses the plot as she tells her version of Sleeping Beauty to her terrified granddaughter".

The Website - http://www.brownbagfilms.com/ - This is seriously worth a look for anyone that reads this post, also there is a studio blog which is part of the website.

Arachnophobia(1990)

On Tuesday Alan started the lecture by introducing us to this movie, "Arachnophobia". Although I had watched this film before, I hadn't really looked at it as anything different than a creepy crawly movie.

The plot of the movie is pretty basic, just like a typical 1950's B movie. A group of scientists studying entomology are on an expedition to Venezuela gathering insects and research, searching for a new species. The entomologists stumble across two stunned spiders which appear to be like nothing they have ever seen before, a entirely new species.
One of the spiders bites one of the men and ends up hitching a ride back in the coffin along with the dead body. Unfortunate for a small town in California called Canaima, the deadly spider arrives and takes cover in an old barn spreading its offspring, causing havoc throughout the town and its people.

The thing that I really liked about the movie "Arachnophobia" was the way that the movie was directed. Although this film is meant to be a horror, it had a lot of comical moments throughout the entirety of the film.
John Goodman plays the comedy character Delbert McClintock, who is the towns pest control.

Another thing that makes this movie really good is how they choose to use the spiders. Unlike the movie "Them", which uses giant ants as their creepy crawlies, the directors in "Arachnophobia" wanted the spiders to take over the town by numbers and not size. This I feel adds an extra suspense to the horror of the film because until they appear, the spiders are silent killers.
The two images below demonstrate a few scenes from the movie were the spiders gather in their groups and try to take the Jennings house by force.

One of my favorite bits of this movie takes part in the cellar of Dr Ross. He is pinned down by several wine racks, his only way of defending himself is to fend off the giant spider by throwing bottles of his most precious wine collection. After throwing the first few bottles he comes across his most prized bottle of Chateau, which he hesitates to throw and says, "Not the chateau". This line did give me a chuckle, It really reminded me of a scene from "Shaun of the Dead" when they're going through old LPs trying to find ones appropriate to throw as projectiles towards zombies.

Give Up Yer Aul Sins

After researching and posting a bit for the transcription project, I came across the poem/text in the post below which is called "Footprints in the Sand". After seeing my post Alan left me a comment pointing me in the right direction of a little animation called, "Give Up Yer Aul Sins".

The short series of T.V animations called, "Give Up Yer Aul Sins" is a selection of recordings from young children re-telling old bible stories to their classroom teacher. The content of the recordings is used is then edited and made into a five minute animation in the style of a documentary.

 

 

Brown bag studios who are behind "Give Up Yer Aul Sins" were Oscar nominated for this short, which was aired at over fifty film festivals, such as Cannes film festival, Aspen film festival, Cork film festival and many more where they even won their nominations.

Footprints in the Sand

Over the last few days I really have been trying to think about what medium I want to take and adapt into something new.

Just by doing some quick research I found this very moving poem which is called "Footprints in the Sand". After reading through this poem a few times I found myself imagining how moving this could be as an animation. Although this is just the start of the project, I really want to get the ball rolling and explore as much as possible to find something that I enjoy and can do well with.

Footprints in the Sand

"One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

The content above was taken from -  http://llerrah.com/footprints.htm

Sin City - Graphic Novel to Film

Sin City is by far one of my favorite graphic novels which was made into a film in 2005. I have chosen this as a very good example of how when you do your research well and take your time with a project, great things will be the result of the outcome.

The film "Sin City" takes four stories from Millers novels making them into one movie which takes place in Basin city. Basin City is full of criminals, sexy dames and a very corrupt police force. The film takes mainly from three of Millers comics, "Sin City" was the first and main influence which soon became a very popular on-going series. The other two which were used were, "That Yellow Bastard" and "The Big Fat Kill". 

In 2005, the movie adaptation of the novels was released, directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez(From Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado).

The most noticeable thing about Sin City is its unique art style which is highly influenced from Film Noir. Miller draws the readers attention to the comic by using a certain colour palette. He uses dark shadows and backgrounds of black and white but uses colours such as red and yellow to highlight key scenes and objects which are important. (Above on the left are two perfect examples, on the left Dwights converses, on the right the "Yellow Bastard")

The video above is a perfect example of how when one medium is used an adapted into another. When Rodriguez directed the movie with Miller they tried to shoot the movie shot for shot in comparison to the graphic novels. Although this is a good example, In our transcription unit we have to choose a medium which hasn't already been done, also one which hasn't already been visually adapted, such as a poem, song or piece of text.

Content of the Brief

Content -

"The digital domain has become a host for previously works, including literature, music,

and artwork. Authored works are creatively redefined, their key aesthetic and cultural

references translated and transposed into digital contexts. In practice there are many

examples of this from the assimilation of Ian Fleming’s & Michael France’s ‘Goldeneye’

into a computer game to 3D animation inspired by music and lyric such as ‘It’s not the

end of the world by The Super Furry Animals.

This unit requires the transcription of a narrative or body of investigation and knowledge

into a complex project that exploits the aesthetic possibilities of digital environments. It

requires the selection of an appropriate source of inspiration and to critically define its,

narrative structure, aesthetic qualities, environment, and characters.

The unit brings together all the skills and knowledge acquired on the course and applies

them to the creation of a complex and sophisticated piece of animated project work.

This is required to demonstrate a developed understanding of research, narrative theory,

analysis, conceptualisation, design development, and technical proficiency. Significantly

this unit marks a key transition for students from directed to self-directed study. Although

closely monitored and supported by staff the proposal for the project is student led.

The creative methodology is increasingly devised by the student and alongside the

Research (Framing Practice) unit sets the scene for the responsibilities and roles

students will adopt in the final stage of their studies."

Mars Attacks! (1996)

In my opinion, the 1996 Tim Burton movie "Mars Attacks" is a bit of a marmite movie, either you really love it or you really don't.

Martians have been seen orbiting the earths atmosphere. The Aliens then Land on U.S soil for an arranged meeting with the president which unfortuantley doesn't go to plan. The martians main leader decides that instead of negotiating with Earth, they will choose to invade the planet destroying all which stands upon its soil. Throughout the film we see a cast of familiar faces who fight back against the martian forces in a last stand to protect the Earth and rid the aliens from it once an for all.

One of the first things that you notice about the movie itself is the cast. Box office actors and actresses such as, Jack Nicholson, Jack Black, Pierce Brosnan, Danny Devito, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Natalie Portman all feature in the movie at some point, some main parts and others not so.

The thing that I believe really makes this film work is its satire towards the whole Sci Fi genre and what it represents. I honestly believe that Tim Burton did a very good job when directing this movies because it works really well in the way it presents itself, which is a 1950's B movie.

Burton did his research well, throughout the movie we can see obvious references to earlier movies such as "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still". One of the most obvious references that Burton makes to these B movie classics throughout "Mars Attacks" is when "The Martians land in Nevada(alleged  home of area 54). Burton reminds us of those famous scenes in which the U.S army battles the aliens and crude artillery, matched against the sophisticated ray guns of their adversaries".

Character Modeling Maya Tuts Progress

In this post are the character Body and Head completed, I didnt find this tutorial hard but a little tricky in places to get it right. Although it is not perfect, this progression will help me in later projects to experiment deeper into this from of modeling.

 

The thing that I found most challenging in these tutorials were the characters feet, These took me the longest to do, other than the head of course. I am still unsure as to whether the look ok or not, with practice it should come more naturally.

Character Bible